GOLFBUSTERS: Gx7 X-Metal

Well, that joke of a product and company Alien Golf, sold over $200,000,000 worth of wedges in just over 3 years. To put that in perspective, that’s significantly more in US sales than some major equipment manufacturers did in all of 2016.

Golf infomercials or “AS SEEN ON TV” golf products are were big business in the 90’s and early 2000’s. The Alien Wedge, Medicus, Orlimar, F2 Wedges, The Haney Blueprint, Tight Lies, Perfect Club, Jack “The Hammer” Hamm, Liquidmetal, Adams Golf, Snuggies and Sham Wow all seemed to be laughing at us (at 2 AM) all the way to the bank back in the day.

The Golf Agency was responsible for producing many of these gems, and the Golf Channel was more than happy to take its money for late night ads. That all changed when The Golf Channel decided to focus on “quality programming.” The golf infomercial went into hiding for a decade or so.

But now it seems to be making a comeback.

If you’ve watched the Golf Channel recently – at pretty much anytime day or night – chances are you’ve seen the industry’s latest & greatest infomercial golf club – The GX-7 X-Metal. It’s the same old song dance: a one-of-a-kind club that promises straighter drives, more forgiveness, and lower scores.

In case you haven’t seen the GX-7, it’s time to “Throw your driver in the trash”:

WATCH THE GX-7 INFOMERCIAL

CLAIMS

In just 30 seconds Dennis Paulson (winner of the 2000 Buick Open) and “Trackman Expert” Rob Rashell lay down a few rather bold claims about the GX-7 X-Metal:

Eliminate 3-4 bad drives per round

Hit it as long as your driver

Hit it as accurate as your three wood

Spins less than a driver

Higher smash factor than a driver

…For only $199

When something sounds this too good to be true, it usually is. To save you the risk of spending your own money and potentially wasting your own time, we got ahold of a GX-7 and put it to the test.

HOW WE TESTED

There is a slight caveat to this new infomercial club: low handicappers and fast swingers need not apply. This club is designed for those high-handicap and/or slow swing speed golfers. With that in mind, our testing pool was chosen to accurately reflect the target demographic for this club.

Three total clubs were tested: GX-7 X-Metal, along with a 10.5° driver, and a 16° three wood from leading manufacturers.

All clubs had the same stated flex.

The same clubs were used in each session for every tester.

10 golfers with handicaps ranging from 8-18 and driver swing speeds between 70 and 90 mph participated in this test.

Each tester hit 12-14 shots for each club from the group (frequently rotating between clubs).

Gross mishits were eliminated and are not included in the shot counts.

Remaining outliers were identified using Median Absolute Deviation (both distance and offline), and dropped before calculation of the final averages.

THE DATA

The table below shows launch monitor data for each of the three clubs tested.

Gx-7 Test Data

Club

Ball Speed
(MPH)

Launch Angle
(Deg)

Backspin
(RPM)

Carry
(Yds)

Total
(Yds)

Offline
(Yds)

SG Rank

Driver

121.92

15.19

2,508

183.74

195.57

21.00

1

Gx7 X-Metal

117.40

15.17

2,861

173.67

185.71

17.45

2

Fairway

115.75

16.56

3,574

170.05

181.26

16.39

3

OBSERVATIONS

The driver achieved, on average the highest ball speeds and longest carries. Though this is to be expected as both the GX-7 and 3-wood are 43″.

While the GX-7 produced significantly shorter in distance than the driver, it finished just under four yards closer to the target line on average.

The driver and GX-7 X-Metal launched at nearly the same angle (15°) with the driver spinning roughly 300 RPM less.

Using the standard deviations of ball speed and carry distance as measures of consistency, the GX-7 was less consistent across the testing pool.

FINAL THOUGHTS

When we first announced we would be testing this latest “AS SEEN ON TV” product to our readers we got some interesting feedback.
“You should test all these gimmicks.”
“This is the biggest piece of s*** I’ve seen.”
“Maybe once exposed we won’t have to see these stupid commercials.”
“Killing infomercial “super clubs” is far more important than comparing major brands, you guys are awesome for doing this.”
“Physics is whispering in my ear and saying, Um, no.”

Basically, most of you thought this was nothing more than a snake-oil dipped ShamWoW wrapped on the end of a shaft.

To our surprise though, the GX-7 was shown to be far from terrible. However, the data does not completely support the claims made in the promotional video. The results aren’t likely to motivate you to lock your driver in the closet. On the other hand, those struggling to hit it straight (and I mean really struggling) – perhaps those with handicaps above 20 – could benefit from the decreased distance and increased accuracy.

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Sam Robinson

Sam is the Director of the MyGolfSpy Lab X Testing Facility in Yorktown, VA. He works day in and day out to ensure the tests we produce are unbiased, independent, and accurate. From Head to Head tests to Most Wanted, Sam has you covered.
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98 Comments

Roby Jeff

5 months ago

I am 72, 17 handicap, swing speed 80mph. My new GX7 is about 10-15 yards shorter than my one wood but a lot easier to hit straight and my bad swings are usually more playable. To me it’s an excellent 2 wood that I can use when I don’t require more length, or of my swing is out of whack I can fall back to it. Surprisingly it also hits well of the fairway for me although it doesn’t go any further than my hydrid 3. I am happy with the club it does what I needed and will get well used.

Steve

1 year ago

I purchased the GX7 driver. I am a 20+ handicap guy with a wicked, consistent slice. I’ve taken the GX7 to the range twice and I am hitting the ball mich straighter. Yes, O am loosing maybe 20 yards but I’m in the fairway most of the time. My normal drives put me in the fairway 20-25% of the time.
So far I’m very impressed.

Mark Jon Gottschalk

10 months ago

I have just returned to golf after close to 2 decades. Health conditions and a foot injury which ended with toe amputation kept me away. One of the first clubs I got to at least play from a Driving Range was the GX7. I was last off a tee using a true persimmon. So any metallic “wood” was new. I returned by hitting consistently shots of 220+ and very few off line. I have a typical speed in the mid to low 80s, so fitting my club with senior flex was a good choice. I am not a tall person to begin with and the length of 43 was good. In fact, as my club set grows, shorter than usual clubs seem the better choice. Look, I never take any advertising claim as anything more than fluffing the product. Car/truck ads anyone? I am happy with the club. As far as off the deck, I do better over all with my hybrids so I never try the GX-7. A good to more than good club for older or low speed players. Compared to my old drives, I will accept better yards on line to longer drives with my old push hook. As with any club, it needs practice to find how or if it will work for you.

Pat

1 year ago

Don’t knock the Perfect Club: It saved the game of golf for me. Sure, it wasn’t a miracle club. But being in the fairway, about 180 yards off the tee, was HUGE for me. I was ready to quit golf, and then I could PLAY. So please forgive us who need a “miracle club” to keep playing.

BRENDA

1 year ago

GX7 LADIES SHAFT. This is my second day using this club. I am 62 Handicap 20 slow swing speed. I hit this club long and straight; much further than my driver by 20 yards. Hard to explain how and why this club works for me. My husband is shocked and perplexed that I can hit this club further. It works for me. Will update later. As I always say when I buy a new club; love it. But eventually it learns all of my old habits. Time will tell. Have 50 plus days to try before I keep.

Brenda

1 year ago

This is my follow up with this club. Absolutely love it. I am now hitting it consistently 180 yards. Anticipate getting more yardage now that I have had a few lessons to help me approach the ball more from the inside. My HCI has dropped 5 strokes primarily due to me being able to get “off the t-box”. With my driver I was all over the course, missing too many fairways. Last 3 rounds shot 90. I see 80s consistency in my future. Last Stableford had “pop dream”. Made 2 birdies (both on par 5s with 2 pops!!), the increased distance off the t helped.

Louise Kaufman

10 months ago

Hi Brenda,
You sound like me. I am looking for a driver that will give me more distance and loft. Gx7 sounds perfect, but I don’t see where they offer a women’s driver. Could you please tell me how you ordered a women’s driver. Thanks, Louise

DOUG LEWIS

1 year ago

I actually own 2 alien wedges. (Bought for $5 each used) I believe the original alien is great if you are in the rough next to the green. Horrible out of the bunker. Unfortunately, if I play a course with very soft bunkers, I have to take it out and put the Maltby (Cleveland) sure out in the bag. Also I can’t hit it more than 40 yards which is OK, but our greens are hard and the ball will roll out more on a full shot than a traditional lob wedge. If you truly can’t get put of the bunker buy the f2 and just swing hard, don’t open the face. An F2 can be had on ebay for less than $30.

I had to reshaft my Diablo Octane driver before the end of last season. Stock from the factory, Diablo came with a 46″ shaft. I hit it “ok” for a few years, but then the spraying all over the course kicked in and I almost gave up on a driver. So, reshafted because of a hairline crack near the hosel that probably didn’t help my game. Bought a heavier shaft with same flex, and had it pured. Felt pretty good and then my big miss was to the right, and it started to where I couldn’t control my driver. Before this past season started, I cut 4″ off the butt end, regripped it, and now I’m in the fairway just about every drive at about 220. Cut 1.5″ off my 3 wood, and now I’m ripping 190 plus lazers down the fairway just about everytime I use it. Have 2 hybrids in the bag also, and cut them also, and now my set is of symetrical length all the way through. Irons start with the 5 iron. Something to be said about a shorter shaft driver.

Bruce

1 year ago

Interesting test, but the 8-18 handicap player is hardly the target market. Go to a public course and play with a seniors group for ap more realistic reading.
Also:
1. The 43 inch length is much the same as tour pros – center hits are far more important than higher speed. Control is king. I assemble clubs and experiment: a 44 inch club (often choked up to 42 or 43) is long, accurate and useful.
2. My friend struggled with a driver for years, gave up on the driver and hit a fairway off the tee. I assembled a “DX7″ clone using a standard 460 cc 12 degree head and a 43 inch A flex shaft – roughly $50 in parts. You couldn’t pry that from his hands – decent distance, good control and longer than his fairway wood. As my father used to say ” if you want to know how to play sports, watch TV on Sunday when they play for money”. He was correct – the Pro length driver is the right choice.

Jon D

Jon D

1 year ago

I’ve been waiting for this review and can’t believe I didn’t see it four days ago. After reading the posts below I am glad I waited to comment. First a few things about “as advertised on TV” golf products.

I’ve bought two over the years, one the GX-7 and the other the Peter Jacobson Swing Jacket. I know someone below smirked at those of us who bought it and really slammed the Swing Jacket. I sliced half of my shots for nearly 40 years but after a couple of sessions on the driving range with the Swing Jacket I virtually quit slicing period, no more banana ball. My index went from 18 down to a low of 10.3.

My ex brother-in-law, bought the Alien when it first came out. He was horrible out of the sand; I think he averaged 1.5 shots to get out of the sand after the Alien he never left anything in the sand. Saw him hole one from a deep bunker at the Emerald Course in Wailea with the Alien.

The Alien “for him” was the real deal.

The Swing Jacket “for me” was the real deal.

It turns out that the GX-7 “for me” is the real deal.

I am 66, about 10 years ago my Driver started going sideways on me, it destroyed my game and my index went way up. I saw the posts advising everyone that a club like the GX-7 was a bogus fix and anyone would be better off doing one of the following:

• Get Lessons
• Get fitted for a real Driver
• Use your 3 wood.

I had done all of that and it didn’t help.

• In 2014 I took $500 worth of lessons it didn’t help. So I thought maybe it was the Pro. So in 2016 I tried a different Pro and for six months starting in March, I took $1,000 worth of lessons, purportedly to reduce my index by 3 strokes. Well instead it went up by 2 strokes and stayed there for nearly a year. None of this helped my Driver.
• I did get fitted for my current $399 Driver that didn’t help
• I spent a lot of hours on the range and experimentation with the 3 wood off the tee, with no real success at all.

So much for those opinions and all that great advice.

I put the GX-7 in my bag in August and have played 10 rounds with it so far. On balance I really love it; it is in there to stay. My club head speed is around 90 and I hit a good GX-7 tee shot about 225. Though I have hit a few out to 240+. My best 8 out of 10 would average around 215 to 220. Look this club is not a panacea. Here is my analysis warts and all. Here are the good things, the things that are not as good and the things to think about.

Good:
• Current Index 14.2, I was 15.0 before I started gaming this one.
• From round to round I am still improving
• Hitting 3 more fairways per round
• Hitting 2 fewer truly ugly tee shots per round
• Old Driver would cost me 4 to 6 shots per round
• GX-7 costs me 1 to 2 shots per round
• Average Driving Distance marginally better
• Shot a four year low round of 75 my next to last round out
• Confidence and Control
• Bad GX-7 tee shots far better than my old driver***

*** This is the key to why this club works so well for me. Scoring in Golf is all about the quality of your bad shots. A typical miss for me now with the GX-7 is a 155 yard smother hook into the left rough resulting in a bogey. A typical miss for me with my old Driver was a much more severe smother say 140 yards into the hazard or out of bounds resulting in a double or a triple. This is a real good reason to go back and analyze the quality of the bad “outliers” in the test. The quality of the bad shots is what it is all about. My old Driver would go further, that often just meant further into the woods.

Not as Good:
• Perfect shots are about 15 yards shorter
• Forget about Hitting off the turf. Marketing hype. (unless you already smoke your 3 wood)
• The stock Grip is Ladies size so unless you have small hands you need to regrip right away
• Truly trying to “Hit it like a 7 iron” is a disaster. Again, marketing hype.
• Wish the club head was a little bigger, say 15% or so, this would be huge I mean yoouuge.

Things to think about:
• Experimenting and dialing in Ball Position and Tee Height takes a lot of time
• Playing the GX-7 a little more forward in the stance than the videos recommend is best
• Consistently monitoring your dialed in Ball Position and Tee height is critical
• The 43 inch Shaft is a good news bad news deal. But the resulting control really offsets the marginal distance loss for those who struggle with consistency.

bajaokie

John Willson

2 years ago

All the condescension (often even outrage) toward these miracle clubs and infomercials should be balanced off against the establishment OEMs who have succeeded in getting idiots to pay $700 per driver and change every year to the new savior model when golf scores haven’t changed in 100 years.

bobbyk

1 year ago

So So true. SLDR …a faster ball speed, high launch and low spin for extraordinary distance. M1 …As TaylorMade’s longest driver to date. Now Twist Face “is engineered to take you farther and straighter… right down the center of the fairway.” All over $400. That’s $1200 in just a few years. Each one longer and straighter. By now everyone should be hitting it 350 down the middle.

Don

2 years ago

MGS, Thank you for sharing the test of this club. It might be interesting if you could have sliced this data by swing speed as well for this presentation. I have a friend who uses them and it keeps him competitive. Granted his swing has problems, he doesn’t swing that fast, to many years of softball and he is in his 60’s. It could be a trust thing too because he expects good shots and gets them. 🙂

I have personally hit the GX-7 that my friends has, granted it was regular shaft, but it went 265 yards playing like a 7 iron on the first swing. My friend just sat there in awe because he never hits it that far, 185-200 yards for him is normal. My swing speed is in the 97 MPH range which can sneak up to 101 on warmer days. My friend is in the low to mid 80’s. My drives with my current driver are a lot longer than this club, but it was right in line with my 3 wood and directionally as straight. I can tell you this I can hit my driver off the deck along with my 3 wood, but for the life of me I got no clue how to make that happen with this club with any consistency.
Would you please consider slicing the data again with swing speed ranges? Thank you.

Make a longer driver as an experiment. It could take some tweaking before you are as accurate as now, but it increase your distance immediately if you hit the ball in the middle of the clubface. Standing up straighter makes swinging a longer club easier. It is also easier on your back.
I did this and then lengthened all of my clubs with graphite shafts to keep the overall club weights from getting too heavy. I am more accurate and don’t have to practice as much.

Steve S

1 year ago

Agreed. I’m using a 48″ driver and picked up the 10 yards I lost the last 2 years. Takes some practice to get used to it but worth the effort. I don’t recommend it if you are a once or twice a month golfer. But if you play at least a couple a times a week this should work for you. Also, helps if you have a consistent swing.

I forgot to mention that you should use a lightweight driver head when you make (or have made) a longer driver. Otherwise it will be too heavy. A head under 200 grams, and preferably around 195 grams is better. Finding a head any lighter than that is difficult. They exist, but are hard to find.

Nakman

Pat

1 year ago

There are many of us for whom the Perfect Club really did make a big positive difference. I couldn’t hit a fairway to save my life and was ready to quit golf. Hitting the 21 deg. Perfect Club 175 yards down the middle consistently let me once again enjoy golf. Not a miracle club, but a useful one nonetheless.

Mark Carey

RobC

2 years ago

I know for a fact, That one of you dumbasses on here has one of those Peter Jacobsen endorsed mental patient can’t hurt myself golf swing jackets,Take one for the team and cough it up. MYGOLFSPY should do an entire Youtube series on nothing but Golf channel infomercial products, I would gladly sacrifice my dignity to be ridiculed testing this insanity just so I can tee off and hit the trash can 30 yards in front of the teebox with a new 400$ driver. Let’s get this party started.

Thomas Murphy

2 years ago

Great stuff just two comments. When did Golf Channel have a break from “As Seen On TV” type products. They aren’t filled with informercials anymore but the ads just keep rolling for products that will fix your game be it mr. haney and his blueprint or clubs like the XE1 wedge or Gx-7 driver replacement… people are looking for a cure and it looks like we have plenty of money for a quick fix. these guys just took Phil’s Frankenwood and made it cheap.
2nd – would be you did great with the spread on swing speed but is the handicap range of 8-18 really their target, I would say 10 and under is “need not apply” you are better than about 80% of golfers, depending on where you look for men the average is around 15 or 26 (wide range) but that probably would have been more real 15-26 as a target market. If you are a) old (like me) b) can’t hit the fairway with a driver (like Phil) c) hit a driver 200 on a good day with roll…maybe this club would deliver all those promises 🙂 — but great work and fun work, it is good not just to hold the big guy’s feet to the fire.

Andrew Han

2 years ago

Total agreed with your 2nd point. The commercial had all old guys, with what looks to be like short backswing (meaning loss mobility), and one young fit dude at the end. Maybe the fact that the testers had 70-90 mph swing speed was good enough to justify. I would have like to see them do a try test as above and an on course test.

Riick wise

MikeyB

2 years ago

Proof once again that you can’t buy a game. You might pick up a few yards here and there based on the QUALITY of the clubs you buy. BUT based on my own recent experiences, proper fitting of clubs to ensure better smash factors, and correct shaft flexes would go much further than the infomercial ‘uber’ club.
I’d like to see a driver test of 80-100 mph swingers with the ‘retail’ versions and ‘pro’ versions of the same shafts. The Aldila Rogue Black is the perfect example of the $285 ‘upgrade’ shaft from your local dealer or box store versus the $600 Limited Tour version.
What kind of ‘pop’ and dispersion can a weekend duffer hope to achieve by dropping another $600 on top of his already $500 driver?

Bob Aiello

About 10 years ago Golf Magazine conducted a test with the top 10 selling drivers at that time (Cleveland Hi Bore & Nike Sasquatch were two of the ten I believe).

They used two piece balls, graphite shafts in all clubs and a 90 mph swing
speed set up on Iron Byron.
The result was a 10 yard difference in distance between the shortest and longest driver.

In that months issue was an add with John Daly for Maxfli golf balls stating
that “90% of the info in this magazine was bull—t!”
I guess he was right. There’s no club
that’ll give you back 20 years (I’m in my mid 60’s), or prevent you from coming over the top on your a lot of your tee shots. Practice (with the right fundamentals in place) makes perfect gentlemen.

Dave Aspegren

Arnie Kourtjian

Chuck Zirkle

2 years ago

Common mistake that most golfer make in purchasing equipment is that they purchase equipment off the shelf, again and again and again. Going to a retail store and purchasing from a retail clerk. When it is time to make a change I go to a fitter and get the right heads and shafts to ensure that I get the right performance in my clubs. Same price as buying them off the shelf if you are purchasing name brands, unless you choose to upgrade the shafts. The heads are the same, but the costs of the shaft can run a few dollars. But if you get a proper fitted set of clubs it makes all the difference. Working with a golf pro on your game helps you enjoy your properly fitted clubs more also. I do both. Retired, 71, club head speed 93mph and hit my 11.25 driver around 230 + consistently. No gimmick clubs for me. Good equipment and hard work.

Anthony Rhode

Darren

2 years ago

i fell into that type of hype with the acer thriver, though i bought it premade which was a mistake, since the shaft was rubbish, but all it turned out to be was a 12 deg driver with a 43″ shaft. a lot of times it just comes down to confidence with a club, might be the go-to club for some people so to each his own.

Thomas Brokl

2 years ago

These ads may not always be paying full price for their time on the air. Many of the ads may be running on a “Remnant” basis, where the channel has no advertiser for the time slot, so they run a remnant ad where the advertiser pays an agreed upon commission for the ad run. This is a perfect deal for the club company, because they have no risk of losing money. They just pay 35% to 50% of sales and if sales are Zero, they pay Nothing for the ad run.

Mike Parker

2 years ago

I bought the GX-7 in April. It performed exactly as they said it would. The main reason I decided to try it was the possibility of being able to hit it off the fairway. I get at least 10 more yards off the tee with an 85 mph swing speed. In ten years of playing golf, I’ve never been able to hit a 3 or 4 wood off the deck so I used my five wood to get 165 yards. The GX-7 gives me a consistent 180 yards off the deck. The real kicker was an eagle on the par 4 ninth hole on my home course using the GX-7 for the drive AND the second shot. I’m 79 years old and stand 5′ 7″ so the shorter shaft is a factor. I’ve gone through 5 different drivers in ten years: 10*, 12.5*, offset, lighter shaft. I won’t be buying any more drivers after using the GX-7. I manage to get in 70 – 80 rounds of golf every season.

Evan

2 years ago

From your results, it sounds like one of the mini drivers or ‘deep face’ 3-woods from the major OEMs would do just as well as this. Plus you can get them used and cheap.
The gx7 really just takes a lot of advice of I hear about slower swings speeds or higher handicap golfers needing to ditching the driver and go with 3-woods instead, as well as focus on accuracy vs distance. This test just confirms someone decided to take sort of common golf knowledge and package it as a new club, in my opinon.

Marty Neighbour

2 years ago

I’d like to see you to cut it open and measure face thickness. I suspect the increased ball speed is due to a thinner face than a standard fairway wood. Which would definitely require a disclaimer regarding swing speeds. Or this thing would last about 20 hits with higher speed swings.

Similar to the Airforce One fairway wood (nitrogen filled). I tested the prototype, and it lasted about 40 swings before caving. But had excellent results up to that point.

John Jack Jones

mcavoy

2 years ago

There was a Rob Rashell that was on Tour about 10-12 years ago. Got his card and was basically a one and done guy. Lost his card and missed about 80% of his cuts. I know this because he kept a blog about his rookie year for msnbc.com. I’m sure they thought he would do better because it got a little boring reading about one trunk slammer after another.

JIGS

2 years ago

The GX-7 can be ordered in senior, regular and stiff shafts they also make an 18* and 21* fairway woods. I have (had) all 3 in senior flex but my 35 yr old daughter got a hold of them. They make a great women’s!

Jonny B

2 years ago

They could publish this test result on their website and still would sell tons of these. Not many care about the reality or the numbers. They fall for the infomercial. That’s why they still do the infomercial.

Steve Moran

Jari Hakonen

A 70 year old man ‘crushing it’ would be him hitting it 220 – 250 yards generally)……… you will get there one day. I am 67 and throwing out anchors on my way to 68 and I hit my driver anything from 250 to 270 when I really connect – tried out the GX7 and basically got the same distance but was a whole lot straighter – for me, that was ‘crushing it’……. enjoy your day!!!

Kenny B

2 years ago

Interesting that you picked a 10.5* driver to compare. Nobody in the target audience, including me, should be playing a 10.5* driver. A 12* driver is probably a better fit for those swing speeds. The GX-7 has just a little more loft, but the 12* driver should produce even more distance than your test results and the accuracy should be similar to the GX-7.

Dennis

1 year ago

I play a 10.5 driver, and it does well for me. If I play a 12, my ball will balloon off the tee. Went thru a period of trying different balls so I could find one that doesn’t balloon above the tree lines. Tried all the “super soft” balls. Great from a 100 in, not for me off the tee. Found a couple of good 3 piecers that work with my game. My SS is around 80. If I hit it any faster, don’t know where its going, besides that I never have had a high SS since I started this game back in ’98. I just turned 61 in Nov. and I don’t think I’m going to get faster. Shorter shaft(42″)has made a big difference for me along with a mid compression 3 piece ball.

Tony

2 years ago

The club outperformed the 3 wood, which makes me wonder, given its head design and head size whether it wouldn’t make a good 3 wood replacement. I’d like to see a test against leading 3 woods from the fairway as well as off the tee. Seems, potentially like a good 3 wood replacement to me.

Dave

2 years ago

Try this test take your 0 to 8 hcp give them each 15 shots with clubs sold from shops. Then give them clubs from pro golfers and get the difference ,then give the pros what the shop is selling and I’ll bet that the same will be for both neither low hcp or pro will hit these clubs they will be all over the map. The average golfer could not afford to play same as pro . Shafts 4 to 5 hundred $ or more . Pro shops and shops would like you to believe that they are selling you the same as the pros plays,they are not lying they are bending the truth a bit the only thing that’s the same is the name ( well mabey ) let’s get the real Truth. Getting tired of salesman saying this is the same as player a or b is playing they left out and oh by the way .

Golfinnut

JB

2 years ago

How does this affect those with higher swing speed?

I’ve been playing a 43.25” 3w shaft in my driver for over a year and I haven’t seen a loss in yardage at all. My swing is around 100mph.

I have GG live data that backs it all up as well. I’m hitting my setup farther than my old driver at 45.5 and they were the same driver (R15). Only real difference being my current driver is 12 degree instead of 10.5 previously.

So I find it odd that distance is so much shorter. It’s possible that typical yardage is closer is more consistent. That’s what I see in my own driving data.

However; that short of a driver does feel a tad too short. Keep in mind older driver were 43” anyways. So it isn’t far fetched to call this totally busted.

Santiago

2 years ago

Although it usually makes sense to dismiss mishits when testing, in this particular test, I thin, it should be included. One of the selling points is, no more mishits, so it only make sense to compare every shot hit.

JB

I agree. From studying my swing data it factors driving distance using two different formulas.

Average distance includes all shots even miss hits and it vastly shorter than what people think.

Typical distance however; takes out those miss hits and then averages distance, which is what everyone does like this test suggests.

I would love to see average distance without removing outliners because I think we would see far more realistic scenario in distance and we can get a better idea of what we should typically see and what we can expect to see overall with distance.

For example, my GG live data has my average drive at 205, but my typical drive is 238. Huge difference when you remove outliners…

Mike C.

Steve S

2 years ago

Would love to take lessons, if they actually helped. Finding a competent swing coach is not easy. Have yet to find one that doesn’t try to remake my swing into something I am no longer capable of doing. Due to back, shoulder and knee problems I can’t swing like a 25 yr old. Most teachers around here are “method” people. They have one method and if that doesn’t fit your body type they are lost…but they’ll still take your money….until you get fed up and leave.

Lydell

1 year ago

I could never make a golf shot without lessons. Anyone can swing at a ball, some can hit the ball, but making a golf shot is yet another skill. I have used a dozen different instructors for different reasons over the last 15 years.

In each case, before I invest with them, I tell them what I am looking for; what my expectations are, what my goals are. I am honest with them and ask them how they will help me. You don’t have to get caught in someone rebuilding your swing; we are in control of what we want. Don’t buy what you don’t want, tell them your goal and if they can’t help you with one or two lessons, pass on that instructor. Now, in getting fixed, I have gone back for more and more, building on previous swing thoughts. The student pays, the student should never be disappointed. Good luck, I started later in life and chose not to spend 15 years of my life learning on my own. I love hitting quality golf shots, it really is rewarding.

Terry

2 years ago

Great review

We need to define as “long as a driver”

Over the course of a season a golfer is going to miss-hit his driver far more often than his gx-7 club- so the data size is too small (12-18 shots) and you have to account in for the difficulty of hitting a driver 10 degree vs a 15 degree over the course of a season.

just one big miss a round with a driver (because its much harder to hit) will skew these numbers in favor of the gx-7 on the yardage.

A golfer is far worse on the course than the range too, esp with a 10 degree hard to hit driver.

Head to head on the range, (10-12 shot sample) the driver is longer , but not over the course of a month or season, when the golfer is really grinding…:)

We really think that this infomercial is expertly produced – if you notice Paulson says you’ll it it “consistently as long as your driver.”

What we found in the Callaway BB Fusion 44.5-45.5″ driver test is similar – while the longest drives from the 45.5″ driver were longer than the best of the 44.5″, the shorter driver produced more consistent distance over the entire test group.

This goes hand in hand with your theory that over the course of the season, the driver may not produce consistently longer drives. Even if while on the range prior to playing, you hit it longer, and possibly even more consistently.

Our sample size is large enough because we used more than one golfer hitting 10-12 shots, we had 10. The data you’re looking at is from hundreds of shots, not just a few.

I’m sure Sam is looking at the raw data now to see what the dropped shot/outlier percentages are between clubs. There might be something there to support your argument, there might not. It’s definitely something we hear from some golf companies when their products don’t perform well. “Over the course of a season, ours would be [longer, more forgiving, more accurate]” – whatever the argument happens to be.

In our driver test, for each club, we gather more than 30 rounds worth of swings for each club. Here, the number is a bit more than 10 rounds worth, which I think is plenty to give you an idea of what’s going to happen on the course. Again – raw data may shed more light on that.

It’s also worth mentioning, that while no test scenario can fully account for on-course pressure, nerves, etc., we don’t test on an open range. We test on a projection of an actual golf hole, which in addition to narrowing the field of view a bit, allows us to account for the impact of the rough (both as it impacts total distance, and its impact on Strokes Gained).

What I see is a club that works reasonably well – and probably better still for the meat of the target audience. What concerns me, however, is the inconsistency of ball speed and carry. It’s not surprising, it’s physics. Smaller head, lower MOI. It suggests to me that a big (dare I say legitimate) golf company could probably make a killing with a similarly marketed 43″ driver. Shorter shaft gets you more consistently centered or near-centered impact, while the larger head gets you the MOI (forgiveness) that the GX-7 lacks as a consequence of design. There’s a little bit of work to do to get the swing weight to a good place, but I suspect the same target audience would be happy in the C9 range.

David W

2 years ago

You also have to figure one bad driver miss vs most of your second shots being from at least 10 yard longer and how many times the difference in driving distance makes you lay up compared to being able to go for the green.

bajaokie

2 years ago

Gap driver is a viable concept. Reasonable choice for the slower swing speed golfer that plays a sensible set of tees and needs the accuracy more than the distance. Save the driver for par fives and long par fours.

GolfUnfiltered

bajaokie

2 years ago

Gap driver has a bigger head and is more forgiving than a 3W. It’s also longer. I have been using one at my home course where there are a lot of short and tight par fours in the 340-370 range. Mine is a 460cc HT 13.5 head. It’s reliably accurate and consistently puts me in range of a full short iron approach. So far, so good.

Jerry

2 years ago

I generally turn away or switch channels when these ads come on. It would seem rather obvious that hitting a shorter club with increased loft is an easier and more accurate choice on a tight hole. Even the tour guys hit 3-woods on tight holes instead of their drivers. A 3-wood’s steep loft diminishes sidespin (less slice/hook) vs a driver and it’s shorter shaft is more controllable. Duh! Hey how about testing that sand wedge I’ve seen on infomercials that even hackers hit next to the pin?

Ross Hewett

Fred

2 years ago

A friend of mine bought the GX-7. He used it a few times and got rid of it. He also bought that sand wedge advertised on TV that “guarantees you will get out of the sand trap every time.” He got rid of that club, too. Bottom line: if you’re having trouble hitting your clubs well, no miracle club is going to help you; you’ll still continue to apply your bad habits. Your money would be better spent getting some lessons, instead of investing in these gimmicks.

Fred

2 years ago

Something I forgot to mention. Ever notice at the end of those commercials that the guys hitting the balls with those clubs are definitely no hackers. Their swings are totally different that than those at the beginning of the spot. Apparently, the GX-7 also corrects your swing while using it. 😉

chemclub

Steve S

2 years ago

I was one of the ones clamoring for this test. To me it looked like a “jacked” 3 wood. Why didn’t you guys test a 13-14 degree three wood? I’ll bet the results would have been the same as the “miracle” club.

Dave

2 years ago

Got to play a stiff shafted edition from a friend. I swing 100-105 mph. Sound was harsh but ball flight was good. Couldn’t figure out how to hit it off the deck. The ideal of combining driver 3 wood intrigues me. I just couldn’t get it to work.

Travis

Andrew

2 years ago

You’re dead nuts here- XHot pro 3Deep is a monster.

Dennis Johnston

2 years ago

Have been waiting for MGS to take this club for a “test drive” and I thank you for it. I must admit I was a bit tempted to buy this club but knew eventually somebody would do a comparison test. Thankfully it was my favorite golf peeps at MGS that stepped up. Thank you.

Nelson Diaz

Mike

2 years ago

Thanks for the test. Very interesting. I wonder if the number would be closer to the claims if the test was done with players carrying a 15 handicap or higher? I am guessing results would come closer to the claims.

Mmarino1975

2 years ago

I understand the reasoning behind removing mishits and outlier data points but…. if the claim is this club is easier to hit and using it reduces these issues I am curious if you can share the raw data and/insight as to what the inclusion of these data points would show.

Keltra

2 years ago

I think people tend to forget that this club is aimed at the guy who can’t find the fairway with his driver and hits the ball as far sideways as straight. So any improvement in accuracy is going to be longer than his typical shot. In no way would a 3 wood type club out perform a well struck driver but hey since most guys who comment on these type of websites drive the ball 300 yards and hit 200 yard 7 irons this club would be of no interest anyway.

xjohnx

2 years ago

I was honestly expecting a lot worse. This was a great idea but after the hammer test, I thought I’d be laughing pretty hard at the results. Giving up 10 yards in distance to gain 4 yards closer to center would not be a bad move for a lot of people. Well done again MGS

Chad

2 years ago

The ads are funny and a great source of entertainment. If you believe that the GX-7 would knock strokes off of your game…..you should have to pay $199. Good for Dennis Paulson for taking money from fools.

TBT

ChristopherKee

2 years ago

I’m a single digit who swings 110+ and you are correct. I need not apply, I played this club a couple holes as someone in my group had it. He wanted to see how far I could hit it since I’m a decent driver of the ball. I was about 30/40 yards short of my normal drive and I couldn’t get the shaft to catch up to save my life. Was fun though, wonder what it would be like with an X flex in it.